Wrestlers Worse Off In AEW Than They Were In WWE

No matter what anyone thinks of the product, the rise of All Elite Wrestling has been vital to the pro wrestling industry. Monopolies are detrimental to all industries, and choice is paramount to growth. More importantly, competition is healthy, as AEW keeps the WWE on its toes and it provides options for the talent if they aren't happy where they are. It's also beneficial to the fans, because who wouldn't want more wrestling on television and in their lives?

While AEW has helped former WWE performers such as FTR and Jon Moxley rejuvenate their careers and prove the doubters wrong, there are others who may have taken a step back by jumping ship to Tony Khan's promotion. In all fairness, this is the world of pro wrestling and anything can change in a heartbeat or the ring of the bell — so never write them off completely — but these choices were made with current facts in mind. So let's take a look at former WWE wrestlers who are worse off in AEW.

There's no doubt that Malakai Black has an X factor in both his look and personality. It's actually ludicrous that he and Bray Wyatt's Fiend weren't put in a feud to determine the next big supernatural superstar in the WWE, especially with The Undertaker's imminent retirement at the time. However, Black's best days were in the NXT brand when he secured himself the NXT Championship as Aleister Black and established himself as a fan-favorite wrestler who could go the mile in the ring. His venture to the main roster started with a promising undefeated streak before he found himself lost in a shuffle with storylines that never quite went anywhere.

After Black's release from WWE, he jumped ship to AEW. For a brief period, it appeared like his supernatural gimmick would be given time to shine in the main event as he battled "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes. Unfortunately, his momentum was all but halted after the arrivals of CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, and Adam Cole in the company. While he formed a powerhouse stable known as the House of Black, his position on the card slid further down. In WWE, he feuded with the likes of Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins near the top of the shows, but now he's stuck in trios matches and nowhere near being seen as a future AEW World Champion.

Ruby Soho arrived with a bang in AEW. As the Joker contestant at All Out's Casino Battle Royale, she won her debut match and challenged Britt Baker for the title soon afterwards. Yet, her first month in AEW appears like it was her best, since Soho has fallen out of the main event scene and failed to gain the same momentum she had when she arrived. Instead of tearing down the house with Thunder Rosa or Baker for the AEW Women's World Championship on a regular basis, she was getting her hand smashed in a never-ending feud between the Jericho Appreciation Society and the Blackpool Combat Club. Still, to this day, no one knows why she was included in that storyline.

On the other hand, as Ruby Riott, she was in the middle of a reunion with Liv Morgan as the Riott Squad — a beloved tag team of the women's division — before she was released. More importantly, with Morgan's rise to the top as SmackDown Women's Champion, it isn't hard to imagine that Soho would have been one of the first people in line to challenge — and possibly even defeat — her former teammate for the title.

There's an argument to be made that Jake Hager peaked as Jack Swagger in 2010. It was the Year of Swag in the WWE as he captured the World Heavyweight Championship and competed against the likes of Chris Jericho, Edge, Randy Orton, CM Punk, and Rey Mysterio. While he never quite experienced the same levels of success thereafter, he remained a regular feature of WWE television, including a memorable stint as part of the Real Americans stable, until his departure in 2017.

After a successful venture into MMA, where he went on an impressive run of victories, he debuted in AEW in 2019. There was the potential to take his real-life combat skills and incorporate it into a gimmick that would make him fearsome, comparable to how Brock Lesnar was repackaged when he rejoined WWE. Unfortunately, any splash only came from the bottom turnbuckle as Hager has done nothing more than hang onto Jericho's coattails throughout his run. He has had no single's feud to speak of (apart from squashing poor Marko Stunt on "AEW Dark") and acts more like a peripheral figure in Tony Khan's company. Even if it's unlikely that Hager would have been a main event talent in WWE if he were still there, he'd certainly be doing more than carrying Jericho's bags, as Claudio Castagnoli beautifully put it in a ruthless promo.

Let's get one thing straight here: Adam Cole has the best theme song in pro wrestling and it isn't even a contest. Yet, it appears that beyond the big intro and the "Adam Cole, Bay, Bay" shtick, he isn't much better off than if he had stuck around in the WWE. Forget about the rumor WWE wanted to cut Cole's hair and use him as Keith Lee's manager on the main roster for a second, and let's look at the facts presented to us.

During his stint in "NXT," Cole was — pardon the pun — an undisputed star. He won everything there was to win on the brand, while taking part in legendary feuds with the likes of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. By the time he departed WWE, many were left shocked that the promotion allowed a superstar whom many dubbed "the next Shawn Michaels" to walk out of the door without so much as a fight. While Cole has regularly appeared on AEW television, won the inaugural Owen Hart Cup, and challenged for the AEW World Champion on a couple of occasions, it's difficult to see where else he can go from here. In a main event scene packed with names like Jon Moxley, CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Adam Page, and Kenny Omega, does anyone see Cole displacing any of them as the new face of AEW?

It was surprising that WWE agreed to release Andrade El Idolo in 2021. In his short three-year stint on the main roster, he solidified himself as a credible contender in the United States Championship scene, winning the title once. Looking ahead, though, he had the talent, look, and presence to become a world champion in the future, so it didn't make sense why the WWE would be willing to let a potential big-time player slip through its fingers so easily.

As per PWInsider, El Idolo was reportedly unimpressed he had been left undrafted, so he sought out a new challenge. It arrived in the form of AEW. Yet, El Idolo hasn't had the same kind of immediate impact in the promotion he had in WWE. He's hopped from manager to manager, but he failed to find his place in the AEW roster, despite being one of the best dressed people on screen. While he might show up on "Dynamite" and "Rampage" from time to time, he isn't exactly the first or fifth name written down on the booking sheet. The question is, would he be in the same situation had he stayed in WWE?

As Rusev, Miro had quite the ride in WWE. He was United States Champion on three occasions and generally involved in some of the most talked-about storylines during his stint there — for better or worse. While he never got a sniff in for the WWE Championship, which is a shame considering his unique look and high-impact style, he had a largely successful WWE career that saw him pick up victories over the likes of John Cena and Sheamus.

In AEW, he would pick up the TNT Championship once and lose it to Sammy Guevara (via WrestlingNews.co). While he entered the AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament and lost in the final to Bryan Danielson, the man known as the Redeemer appears nowhere near to challenging for the big one anytime soon. Yes, his injuries slowed down his quest to build up some steam in AEW, but he also hasn't set the world on fire either. With all the former WWE talents jumping ship to AEW and leapfrogging Miro, he's no better off where he is now than when he was in the former company. Perhaps he might have more luck in ROH if he decides to slide across there.

Even before he landed in WWE, Matt Sydal had a decent career. From TNA to ROH, his high-flying style went down like Nutella. His WWE run might not have become Hall of Fame-worthy, but his stint as Evan Bourne and his Air Boom tag-team run with Kofi Kingston was electrifying. In many ways, he was an early prototype of Ricochet — in the sense that he was granted regular television time, but everyone knew he would never be world champ. In 2014, Sydal departed WWE, which was a shame since he would have been a perfect candidate for Triple H's version of "NXT."

For the next few years, Sydal toured the world and explored the indies before finally signing with AEW in 2020. Unfortunately, in his first match, he botched a Shooting Star Press and his AEW career never recovered after that — even if the company tried to get an angle out of it. At the same time, Sydal has reached the veteran stage of his career, so it's highly unlikely that AEW would be carving out a long-term plan for him. That said, he'd probably have more time on WWE television as an enhancement talent than what he does in AEW now.

It might be early days in Buddy Matthews' AEW run, but he has already stumbled into a major problem: the House of Black. While the stable looks exciting on paper and features three bona fide bruisers in the shape of Matthews, Malakai Black, and Brody King, it becomes difficult to decide who to elevate from the group. This isn't an Evolution type of situation where it's clear there will be a break when the students become the masters, but rather a sticky booking situation. With all three members of the group being young enough and hungry to compete for the AEW World Championship, who gets the big push when all is said and done?

While Matthews was nowhere near the headlining act when he was in WWE, he was embroiled in a terrific storyline with the "Monday Night Messiah" Seth Rollins, which did his profile wonders and introduced him to a wider audience. Additionally, long-term booking could have seen him become a big star if the promotion had chosen to get behind him. While it seemed like there was a plan for Matthews and his character before his release, the same doesn't seem to be applicable to his AEW stint right now. Only time will tell.

There's an argument to be made that the Hardy Boyz' best days are behind them. While Jeff Hardy's issues are due to other unfortunate personal reasons that he's dealing with, his brother Matt's run in AEW has been anything but extreme. There was a genuine excitement and hype when the two brothers teamed up again, but it was short lived as they proved they were nowhere near ready to displace the likes of the Young Bucks or FTR as AEW's premiere tag team.

As a single's competitor, Hardy hasn't done much either in AEW. His feuds and matches have been forgettable, as he lumbers around and just pads the card as a recognizable name from yesteryear. While it's doubtful he would be doing anything major on WWE television either, he was involved in the big feud between Edge and Randy Orton before he left. Surely, that would have been time better spent rather than the whole Hardy Family Office angle. What a sad twist of fate for Hardy.

Despite being cleared to wrestle, Saraya hasn't been effectively utilized following her first and only AEW Women's Championship reign, which began in her home country at All In 2023. Her reign also only lasted 44 days, compared to her longest title run in WWE, which was with the NXT Women's Championship for 308 days.

Saraya, formerly known as Paige, was forced to retire in April 2018 following a neck injury. She was kept in WWE for a variety of on-screen roles, including the general manager of "WWE SmackDown," the manager for the Kabuki Warriors, and even a role on "WWE Backstage" on FS1. The former Paige announced she was leaving WWE in July of 2022, as WWE doctors reportedly would not clear her to get back in the ring.

Saraya confirmed she would return to in-ring action in AEW in November 2022, but competed in only a handful of high-profile matches, including her All In championship victory. She carried the title until an episode of "AEW Dynamite: Title Tuesday," where she dropped the gold to Hikaru Shida. Following the loss, Saraya would go on to feature mostly on the lesser-watched "AEW Collision," alongside Ruby Soho and Harley Cameron as the Outcasts. Saraya interrupted the All In 2024 pre-show alongside her family, claiming she was neglected over the last year. She then began a feud with the returning Jamie Hayter before taking her hiatus, and she's yet to return at the time of this writing.

Ricochet signed a multi-year AEW deal August 2024, but he didn't enjoy a great start to life in Tony Khan's promotion. After his initial debut at All In at Wembley Stadium in the Casino Gauntlet, fans were glad to see Ricochet in AEW following the expiration of his WWE contract that June, feeling as though he had been under utilized in his previous promotion. However, he has fallen into a pattern of competing on the mid-card, just like he had been before.

Following his arrival, Ricochet wrestled the likes of The Beast Mortos and Sammy Guevara before facing frenemy Will Ospreay for the AEW International Championship. He got another shot at the belt at WrestleDream, in a triple threat match which was won by Konosuke Takeshita. Ricochet tried again for the belt at Full Gear, but lost once again, and entered the Continental Classic, where he scored three victories, getting to the semi-finals at Worlds End. Toward the end of the Continental Classic, Ricochet went through a slow heel turn after defeating Ospreay by nefarious means.

The turn got things moving for Ricochet in the company, with fans even throwing toilet paper at him at the Hammerstein Ballroom. He called out Swerve Strickland, igniting their feud, and attacked the former champion with a pair of scissors on an episode of "Dynamite," leaving him bloody. Things may now be looking up for the former WWE United States and Intercontinental Champion, but he didn't seem to be better off in AEW at the start.

John Morrison was a tag team staple in the Ruthless Aggression era of WWE alongside then-partner Joey Mercury as MNM. He then had other great runs in WWE alongside The Miz, with the most recent in 2020. They teamed together up until Morrison's release in November 2021, the result of budget cuts. The real-life John Hennigan, now christened Johnny TV, signed an AEW contract in June 2023 and has mostly competed on "AEW Collision" and Ring of Honor.

Since signing with AEW, Johnny TV has been able to appear in GCW, as well as other indies, but has not held any singles gold in Tony Khan's promotion. He's also rarely appeared on AEW's flagship show, "Dynamite." Mostly, Johnny TV is Johnny ROH Honor Club, a subscription service for those who want to watch ROH, as the show does not yet have a television deal like "Dynamite" or "Collision."

The former Morrison may be happier with seemingly more freedom in the AEW-sphere and championship gold doesn't mean everything. However, he held many championships throughout his WWE career, including numerous Tag Team Titles, Intercontinental Championship gold, and a run as ECW Champion.

Keith Lee was a major star on "WWE NXT," where he held the North American Championship for 182 days and the NXT Championship for almost two months. The fan-favorite dominated on "NXT" and was even the last man standing for the developmental brand in Survivor Series in 2019. He even impressed the equally large Brock Lesnar in his 2020 Royal Rumble appearance. While the "Limitless" one admittedly floundered on the main roster following his call-up in August 2020, he had strong feuds against the likes of Randy Orton and even got a shot at the WWE Championship. Lee was on TV every week before taking time off due to health issues.

Lee was released by WWE in November 2021, along with 17 other wrestlers. He signed with AEW and debuted in February 2022, eventually finding success as one-half of the AEW Tag Team Champions with Swerve Strickland before feuding with him. As of this writing, he has not won any singles gold and has yet to find a consistent groove on AEW television.

The 40-year-old's last match was a victory over Brian Cage on "Collision: Holiday Bash" in December 2023. Lee, who suffered complications from COVID while in WWE, has been off television ever since. He was pulled from Worlds End in 2023 at the last minute, and the last time fans had an update from the man himself was in May 2024. Lee took to social media and told fans he appreciates them for reaching out both publicly and privately, but didn't provide a timeline about his return. He did, however, reveal that he was working hard to make it happen.